| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Maldives |
| Dates | 19 – 30 May |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Palestine (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Philippines |
| Third place |  Maldives |
| Fourth place |  Afghanistan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 35 (2.19 per match) |
| Attendance | 51,500 (3,219 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Ashraf Nu'man (4 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Murad Ismail |
| Bestgoalkeeper | Ramzi Saleh |
←2012 2016 (AFC Solidarity Cup) → | |
The2014 AFC Challenge Cup was the fifth and the final edition of theAFC Challenge Cup,[1] an internationalfootball competition forAsian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are mainly categorized as "emerging countries" in the now defunct Vision Asia programme. It took place in theMaldives from 19 to 30 May 2014.[2] The champions,Palestine, qualified to the2015 AFC Asian Cup.[3]
Palestine were crowned the victors after winningthe final against thePhilippines 1–0 afterAshraf Nu'man scored a free kick in the 59th minute. Palestine won the title with a perfect sweep of individual awards. This includesMurad Ismail as the best player,Ramzi Saleh as the best goalkeeper, and Ashraf Nu'man as the top scorer.[4]
The AFC decided that an automatic qualification place would be given to the tournament's hosts starting from this edition.[5] Four countries then expressed interest in bidding to host the tournament;India,[6]Maldives,[7]Philippines,[8] andTajikistan.[9] The AFC announced on 13 November 2012 that the Philippines and Maldives were in the final shortlist to host the finals.[10] The final decision was taken in the AFC Competitions Committee meeting on 28 November 2012, and the hosting rights were given to the Maldives.[11] The Maldives Ministry of Youth and Sports then claimed that they wanted to host the tournament due to the poor facilities they encountered in the2012 AFC Challenge Cup which the Maldives qualified and competed in.[12]
In mid-November 2013, AFC presidentSalman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa announced that the Philippines would be the backup hosts "if something goes wrong in Maldives."[13] By 25 November, the AFC proposed - pending the approval of the Executive Committee - to move the tournament from the Maldives to the Philippines if the Maldives do not start the required renovation work by 15 December 2013.[14] The AFC then inspected possible venues inManila and thePhilippine Football Federation claimed that they would be ready to host the tournament if given the nod.[15][16] Despite this, the Maldives' Ministry of Youth and Sports said they would do everything necessary for the country to host the tournament.[17][18] On 7 January 2014, the AFC announced that the Maldives would remain as the host of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup.[19]
After the Maldives were given the hosting rights of the tournament, the Maldives' Ministry of Youth and Sports stated that the listed venues below would be used but renovations would be required.[12] Renovations then started in mid-January 2014 and was expected to be completed within 90 days.[20][21] In a function on 12 May, the National Stadium was handed over to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and opened by PresidentAbdulla Yameen. The stadium was also re-branded as the 'National Football Stadium'.[22][23] Another function six days later at the second venue, originally known as the Hithadhoo Zone Stadium, was handed over and inaugurated by former PresidentMaumoon Abdul Gayoom. It was also re-branded as the 'Addu Football Stadium'.[24]
The qualification draw was held on 11 December 2012 in AFC House inKuala Lumpur,Malaysia.[25] The twenty teams involved in the qualification draw were drawn into five groups of four teams. The five group winners plus the two best second-placed teams qualified for the finals.North Korea, the2010 and2012 champions, were excluded from participating in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup.[11]
| Country | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maldives | Hosts | 28 November 2012 | 1 (2012) |
| Afghanistan | Group C winner | 6 March 2013 | 2 (2006,2008) |
 Myanmar | Group A winner | 6 March 2013 | 2 (2008,2010) |
| Palestine | Group D winner | 6 March 2013 | 2 (2006,2012) |
 Laos | Best runner-up team | 21 March 2013 | 0 (debut) |
 Kyrgyzstan | Group B winner | 21 March 2013 | 2 (2006,2010) |
| Philippines | Group E winner | 26 March 2013 | 2 (2006,2012) |
 Turkmenistan | 2nd best runner-up team | 26 March 2013 | 3 (2008,2010,2012) |
The eight participating teams were drawn into two brackets of the group stage. To prepare for this, the teams were separated into four pots of two teams each based on their performance in the 2012 edition of the tournament with the exception of hosts being placed in Pot 1. The final draw was held at theParadise Island Resort in the Maldives on 12 February 2014.[26][27]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Each team can name a squad of 23 players.[3]
The teams are ranked according topoints (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss) and tie breakers are in following order:[3]
| Key to colours in group tables |
|---|
| Top two placed teams advance to the semi-finals |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palestine | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7 |
| Maldives(H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 |
| Myanmar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 |
| Palestine | 1–0 | Kyrgyzstan |
|---|---|---|
Abuhabib 90+6' | Report |
| Maldives | 2–3 | Myanmar |
|---|---|---|
| Umair 55' Ashfaq 90+6' | Report | Kyaw Ko Ko 39',90+5' Nyein Chan Aung 45+1' |
| Kyrgyzstan | 0–2 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Ashfaq 61',71' |
| Kyrgyzstan | 1–0 | Myanmar |
|---|---|---|
| Verevkin 18' | Report |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
| Afghanistan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 |
| Turkmenistan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Laos | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 1 |
| Turkmenistan | 5–1 | Laos |
|---|---|---|
| Baýramow 42' Durdyýew 50' (pen.),85'Keodouangdeth 55' (o.g.)Hojaahmedow 87' | Report | Sayavutthi 34' |
| Laos | 0–2 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Rota 41' Reichelt 63' |
| Afghanistan | 3–1 | Turkmenistan |
|---|---|---|
| Amiri 45+1' Hatifi 61'Shayesteh 86' | Report | Muhadow 64' |
| Turkmenistan | 0–2 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Report | P. Younghusband 49' Reichelt 73' |
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 27 May | ||||||
| Palestine | 2 | |||||
| 30 May | ||||||
| Afghanistan | 0 | |||||
| Palestine | 1 | |||||
| 27 May | ||||||
| Philippines | 0 | |||||
| Philippines (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||
| Maldives | 2 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 29 May | ||||||
| Afghanistan | 1 (7) | |||||
| Maldives (p) | 1 (8) | |||||
| Palestine | 2–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Nu'man 43' (pen.),47' | Report |
| Philippines | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| P. Younghusband 19' Lucena 38'C. Greatwich 104' | Report | Umair 36' Abdulla 66' |
| Afghanistan | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Karimi 114' | Report | Fasir 118' |
| Penalties | ||
Alikhil Zazai Hadid  Karimi Faqiryar Sharityar Daudi Sakhizada Shayesteh | 7–8[28] | AshfaqAbdul GhaneeFasirRilwanQasimRasheedAliMohamedFazeel |
| Palestine | 1–0 | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Nu'man 59' | Report |
| 2014 AFC Challenge Cup champions |
|---|
 Palestine First title |
Ashraf Nu'man[29]Murad Ismail[29]Ramzi Saleh[29]Vathana Keodouangdeth (playing against Turkmenistan)This table shows all team performance. Matches that ended in a penalty shoot out are counted as draws
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reached the knockout stage | |||||||||
| 1 | Palestine | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | |
| 2 | Philippines | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | |
| 3 | Maldives | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | |
| 4 | Afghanistan | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | |
| Eliminated in the group stage | |||||||||
| 5 | Turkmenistan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
| 6 | Myanmar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | |
| 7 | Kyrgyzstan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | |
| 8 | Laos | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | |
